china's statistical system and resources

Journal of Government Information 30 (2004) 87–109

China’s statistical system and resources

Susan Xue

State and Foreign Documents Librarian, Government Publications Library,

University of Colorado at Boulder, 184 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

Available online 22 September 2004

Abstract

As the People’s Republic of China plays an increasingly important role in international politics and

trade, countries with economic interests there find they need to know more about this nation. Access to

primary information sources, including official statistics from China, however, is very limited, as little

exploration has been done into this closely controlled repository of information. This study explores

major current statistical sources in China through examining (a) the statistical system in Chinese

government, (b) the mechanism of statistical data collection, and (c) what statistical information is

currently available in both print and electronic format and at what level. It shows that a wealth of

statistical information does exist in China, it is systematically compiled, and it is available, although

not conveniently, to the public through various channels. This study can serve the need for China’s

data from the academic and business communities, contribute to a better understanding of China’s

statistical system, and serve as a collection tool for academic, public, and corporation libraries as well.

D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Chinese statistics; Statistical system; Government publications; China

1. Introduction

Since China adopted the bReform and OpennessQ policy in 1978, its economy has been

growing rapidly. Economic development has brought changes in China’s international trade,

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S. Xue / Journal of Government Information 30 (2004) 87–10988

political structure, and foreign policy. The influence of China in the areas of world politics,

economy, and trade has increased greatly and been recognized by the international

community. Countries having either political or economical interests in China are seeking

to know more about the nation; research on China has dramatically increased in recent years,

by governments, academic institutions, and corporations alike. For instance, Academic

Search Premier indexed 599 articles on China in 1990. In 1995, the number was 4435; in

2002, the number had grown to 5780. EconLit indexed 460 articles on the Chinese economy

in 1990 and 919 in 2000. Demands for information about China cover a large range of topics.

However, primary information sources, including statistics, are the ones sought for solid

research on China and are one of the information needs that libraries try to meet.Common

questions concerning Chinese statistics include the following: Is there a statistical system in

the government? How much statistical information exists? Where is it available? Is it

accurate? Where can one ask for help in getting the statistics? Due to historical and political

factors, China’s official government publications, including official statistics, have been little

known to the outside world. Traditionally, Chinese government information was mostly

available only internally to government officers depending upon rank. For years since 1949

and during the Cultural Revolution, statistics and other government documents were mainly

used for decision-making and function-monitoring hierarchically in Chinese government.

However, challenged by its opening to the outside world, particularly with the WTO

admission and winning the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games, the Chinese government has

become willing to release some government documents to the public, principally statistics. To

address all the issues and document the chronological changes in China’s statistical system

and resources would require a book-length study. This article only attempts to explore current

statistical resources in China through examining (a) the current statistical system, (b) the

mechanism of statistical data collection, and (c) what statistical information is currently

available in both print and electronic format and on what level.

In spite of the ever-increasing demands for Chinese statistics in research and business

practice, there are few resources available in North America and the rest of the world. It might

be because of the language barrier, but it is certain that there has been little research

conducted on statistical resources from China. A literature search reveals that there are studies

discussing data liability of Chinese statistics, but few on the system and availability of the

statistics themselves. There are two publications in English that approach the subject of this

article’s analysis. Li (1962) examined the Chinese statistical system and the validity of

Chinese official statistics from 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, to

1962. He did discuss what the State Statistics Bureau published in that time period, but the

statistical function of other government bodies was not addressed, and it has been 40 years

since the publication of his book. Huang (1996) examined the activity of both the central

statistical body and other government departments, but as the research was aimed at a

comparative study between the statistical systems in China and Russia, very little was

discussed on the sources themselves.

Although the question of the validity of Chinese statistics is not directly addressed in this

article, it may be helpful to summarize the studies on this issue. The question may arise: If the

quality of statistics in China is in doubt why use them at all? First, some studies argue that

S. Xue / Journal of Government Information 30 (2004) 87–109 89

statistics are needed to serve as a basis of research even though there may be errors. It is a task

for the researchers to find out how much is wrong with the data, as pointed out by Sinton Je

(2001). The discussion below of the mechanism for collecting raw data may serve as a basis

for further investigation. Second, although some disagree (Rawski, 2002), other researchers

believe that the central government does not purposefully falsify data (Shi, 2002; Wu, 2003).

One even argues that bthe evidence of falsification of aggregate nationwide output and

economic growth is invalidQ (Holz, 2003). Lawrence Klein, the 1980 Nobel Prize winner in

Economics, says byesQ to the question of whether China is growing as fast as the Chinese say

it is growing (over which there had been some controversy), adding that technical errors in

any analysis are unavoidable (Xiao, 2003). More constructively, some studies have tried to

explore ways to improve the accuracy of China’s statistics. One of the suggestions is to use

sample surveys widely instead of regular statistical reporting schedules (local governments

report statistics based on standard forms nationwide) (Cui, 1998; How cooked are the books,

2002; Through a glass, darkly, 1999), a change which the National Bureau of Statistics has

been trying hard to implement.

2. Statistical system

A handbook published by the United Nations Statistical Office (United Nations Statistical

Office, 1980) divides statistical agencies around the world into three categories: centralized,

decentralized, and types of mixture of centralized and decentralized. A national statistics

service is centralized if the management and operation of the statistical programs are

predominantly the responsibility of a single government agency; typical examples are

Canada and Australia. By contrast, within a decentralized system, statistical programs are

managed and operated under the authority of several government departments; however, a

particular agency usually has the responsibility for coordinating the statistical activities of

the various departments; a typical example is the United States. There are also bdegrees ofcentralizationQ or a mixture of centralization and decentralization. Many countries are in this

category as their statistical programs are the responsibility of a national statistical agency

and also of federal departments and local governments. China’s system falls into this third

category.

China’s statistical system is closely nested into the large hierarchical administration

structure. A brief introduction to the structure will help in understanding the framework of the

system. The following figure illustrates the basic administrative structure in China.

Similar to the governmental structure in the United States, the Chinese central government

administers a huge bureaucratic apparatus across the country, but that is where the similarity

ends. As shown in Fig. 1, the State Council governs ministries/commissions, provinces,

autonomous regions (minority nationalities), and municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin,

and Chongqing). Under the jurisdiction of the provinces, there are city and county

governments. A city could govern up to a dozen counties, depending on its own size

(bcountiesQ are essentially rural areas and do not include cities). The village is the bgrassrootsunitQ and reports to the township, which then reports to the county.

Fig. 1. Administrative Structure in China. Source: Government Organization Chart of the People’s Republic of

China 2002, China Daily, and interview with government officials in China.


Within China’s administrative framework, its statistical system has these characteristics: (a)

statistics programs at central government level are mostly centralized; (b) statistics programs

at executive department level are decentralized; (c) statistics programs at provincial and local

level are somewhere between centralized and decentralized. The Statistics Law of the

People’s Republic of China (Statistics Law of People’s Republic of China, 1983a, chap. 1,

article 4) set up the system as follows:

The State shall establish a centralized and unified statistical system, with a statistical

administrative structure under unified leadership and with each level assuming

responsibility for its own work.

A National Bureau of Statistics shall be established under the State Council to be

responsible for organizing, directing, and coordinating the statistical work throughout the

country.

People’s governments at all levels and all departments, enterprises, and institutions may,

according to the needs of their statistical work, set up statistics institutions and staff them

with statisticians.

The system structure set out by the law is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Basically, China’s statistical system consists of two vertical parts with some horizontal

relationship. The two vertical parts are a comprehensive statistical system of central,

provincial, and local governments, and a departmental statistical system. In the

comprehensive system, the National Bureau of Statistics is the head. It was established

in August 1952, and then subordinate statistics departments were gradually established in

23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities. At city and county level, a

statistical division is required. There is no office or division at grassroots township level

specifically responsible for statistical work; however, an officer is assigned the duty and

Fig. 2. Framework of the Statistical System in China. Source: Statistical System, National Bureau of Statistics of

China Web site. Available: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjjg/.


reports to a statistical office at county level. This is the main system in China that

implements statistics law and regulation and collects and publishes statistical

information.

The National Bureau of Statistics has the responsibility for organizing, directing, and

coordinating the statistical work throughout the country. bThe construction of the state

statistics information projects shall be under the unified leadership of the National Bureau of

Statistics, and the statistics agencies under the local people’s governments at or above county

level shall be responsible for the projects at their respective levelsQ (The Detailed Rules for

Implementation of Statistics Law of People’s Republic of China, 1987, chap. 1, article 3).

This simple sentence dictates a complex structure. It stipulates that statistical offices at

provincial and local level have dual supervisors. In the area of statistics collecting, such as

formulating new statistical programs and implementation of statistical surveys, a local

statistics office is managed by its immediate superior statistical office. But the local

government at the same level has the control of appointing the head of the statistics office. In

http:\\www.stats.gov.cn\tjjg\


other words, professionally the NBS is responsible for statistics collecting at all levels, but

administratively, the State Council and local people’s governments are responsible for

personnel and some budgets.

Ministries, commissions, and other organs directly affiliated with the State Council

constitute another vertical part in China’s statistical system. As in the United States, the

number of executive departments in China is always changing. In 1998, the State Council

underwent a major reform of its structure. Now it is composed of the General Affairs Office,

28 ministries and commissions (including the People’ Bank of China and the National

Auditing Office), 17 directly affiliated organs, and 7 working offices. In this departmental

statistical system, a department in each ministry or commission is normally assigned the

responsibility of coordinating with the NBS, collecting, compiling, and reporting the

statistics. However, very few ministries/commissions have the luxury of having a department

responsible only for statistics. In most ministries, its department of planning and development

takes on the task. Statistics responsibility must also be assigned to a branch office of each

executive department at provincial and local level. Two exceptions are the People’s Bank of

China and the General Administration of China Customs; with heavy responsibilities for

reporting data to the NBS and their own statistical needs, they each have their own

Department of Statistics.

Ministries/commissions are responsible for contributing data relating to the national

economy. Such data include, but are not limited to, population and growth, gross domestic

product, value of agricultural and industrial products, fixed assets, and imports and exports.

Because of these responsibilities, local branch offices in the departmental statistical system

are overseen in the professional area by the statistical offices in the local governments at

the same level. In the meantime, ministries and commissions need their own statistical

plans and programs, as they are responsible for individual subject statistics such as

education, sports, tourism, and health. In these areas, local branch offices are supervised by

the office one level up in the departmental statistical system. In short, departmental

statistics offices at local levels are supervised by their immediate superior offices in

statistics gathering and administration. However, consultation with local government

statistical offices in implementation and operation of statistical programs, even personnel, is

a necessity.

Another unique characteristic of the system is that there are three survey teams (at the

bottom of Fig. 2) directly reporting to the NBS. The NBS established these three teams

between 1983 and 1996 so as to have direct control of sample surveys. The staff members of

the three teams travel throughout the country and implement only those sample surveys and

duties assigned by the NBS.

3. Types of data collected and the mechanism

Regulated by the Detailed Rules for Implementation of Statistics Law of the People’s

Republic of China, governments at and above county level and responsible departments must

establish their respective statistical schedules and draw up their respective plans for statistical


surveys at three different levels (The Detailed Rules for Implementation of Statistics Law of

People’s Republic of China, 1987, chap. 2, article 7):

(1) National statistical surveys. These surveys investigate the basic conditions of the

country, including projects for investigation solely worked out by the National Bureau

of Statistics or jointly worked out by the NBS and relevant departments of the State

Council. New and important planned projects for national statistical investigations must

be reported by the NBS to the State Council for its examination and approval. The

regular and general projects for statistical investigation are examined and approved by

the NBS. All local government statistics offices and departmental statistics offices are

strictly required to carry out these national programs according to the national plans

designed by the NBS.

(2) Ministries’ statistical surveys. These are specialized programs worked out by the

statistical agencies within these ministries and implemented by the statistical agencies

vertically at local levels. Depending upon whether or not a survey object is within the

jurisdiction of the ministry itself, the ministry may need just the approval of its own

leader or the approval of other ministries’ leaders, as well as having to report to the

NBS. Local statistical offices in executive departments need to report their statistical

programs to local people’s governments at the same level for recordkeeping. Depending

on the level, significant statistical programs need approval by the NBS or the statistical

offices of the local people’s governments at the same level. Large survey projects may

need to report to the State Council for approval and implementation.

(3) Local statistical surveys. These are investigations needed by local people’s governments.

Local statistical investigation plans and programs shall be stipulated by the statistical

agencies under the people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and

municipalities and reported to the National Bureau of Statistics for recordkeeping.

At these three administrative levels, there are three methods of collecting raw data: census,

sample survey, and national statistical reporting schedules. Since 1949, China has relied

heavily on the regular statistical reporting schedules to collect raw data. There are

complicated reporting schemes and forms involved. As data are reported by governments

at every level, there have been many opportunities for local officials to exaggerate the

numbers so as to seek political advance. The Chinese government indeed realized this

problem, so two measures were taken in the Statistics Law of 1983: First, it stated that

statistical data gathering should be conducted mainly through regular sample surveys on the

basis of general censuses and supplemented by regular statistical schedules, special surveys,

and comprehensive analysis (Statistics Law of People’s Republic of China, 1983a, 1983b,

1983c); second, the law stipulated that heads of local authorities, departments, or units who

altered statistical data, fabricated statistical data, or compelled or prompted statistics

institutions or statisticians to tamper with or fabricate statistical data would be given

administrative sanctions. If the case constituted a crime, persons involved could be

investigated for criminal responsibility (Statistics Law of People’s Republic of China,

1983a, chap. V, article 26).


The NBS has been working toward the implementation of the first measure since then,

not only for more accurate statistics, but also for developing a system to deal with the

transition from planned economy to market economy. The number of nonstate and private

enterprises has increased rapidly since the reform at the end of the 1970s. Many new

economic indicators arose with this new economic phenomenon. Market economics

required a reform in statistical reporting schedules and the adoption of new methods.

During his 13-year tenure (1984–1997) as the Director General of the NBS, Mr. Zhang Sai

published numerous articles and delivered many speeches to push the sample survey system

in China (Zhang, 1998). After a 10-year effort, Zhang could safely state, in various

speeches and papers from 1994 to 1997, that a new statistical investigation system had

been established. The main body of this system, as described in the Statistics Law,

comprised sample surveys, with national censuses serving as a base and the regular

reporting schedules as a supplement. He stressed that the reporting schedules should be

further reduced, and any new schedules proposed should be under strict scrutiny (Zhang,

1995a, 1995b). In the later 1990s, 30% of all statistics were collected by sample surveys;

however, Zhang (1994) was not satisfied and emphasized that more sample surveys should

be adopted to make the system function better and catch up with the rapid change in the

economic structure.

Given so few statistics available to the outside world, it is very surprising that China

actually has a complicated statistics collecting mechanism and conducted five national

censuses, a great number of sample surveys, 12 major national regular statistical schedules,

and other reporting schedules managed by ministries. The following summarizes these data

collecting methods based on the information from the NBS Web site.

3.1. National census (China Statistics Bureau, 2003b)

3.1.1. Population census

This is the major census and is also the main method of collecting population statistics in

China. The Population Census began in 1953 and was supposed to be conducted every 10

years; in practice, it was done only in 1964, 1982, 1990, and 2000. Due to the Cultural

Revolution, the one that should have been done in the 1970s was never implemented. In the

last survey in 2000, both long and short forms were used. The long form was a 10% sample

survey that included data on age, sex, ethnicity, education level, working status, industry,

occupation, family condition, migration, marital status, birth, death, and (newly added)

housing information. The short form was a 100% survey that included only data on age, sex,

ethnicity, education, and family living condition.

3.1.2. Agricultural census

The first agricultural census was done in 1997, and it is scheduled for every 10 years

thereafter. This is a comprehensive survey composed of six forms targeting all types of

agricultural units, with data on rural households and population, labor force, arable land,

science and technology in agriculture, livestock, agricultural machinery, rural environment,

rural market, revenue and expenses of agricultural units, and many other indicators.


3.1.3. Industrial census

This is also on a 10-year schedule; three have been done, in 1950, 1985, and 1995. Three

forms in the 1995 census covered all types of industrial enterprises. The questions concerned

basic condition of enterprise, finance of enterprise, employment and wages, output, sales,

storage of major products, consumption of energy and materials, capacity of production,

equipment, science and technology invention in industries, and technology indicators.

3.1.4. Service industry census

The first one was completed in 1993, and it is on a 10-year schedule. When first conducted,

this census was vitally important due to the mushrooming of the service industry in China

since the early 1980s. Three forms were used to cover all service enterprises, including military

ones. Private entities used a 5% sample survey, and all others used the 100% sample survey.

Census content included number of enterprises, employment and wages, capital, income,

sales, profits, investment in fixed assets, and value of products/services.

3.1.5. Census of basic units (a unique Chinese concept comprising local entities in all

industrial and service sectors except for individual farmers)

This census has been done twice, in 1996 and 2001; it is on a 5-year schedule. Its purpose

is to get the total number of different types of basic units, their economic composition,

structure, deployment of production factors, and vocational distribution. Ten forms were used

to gather directory information and data on legal representative, unit location, occupation

category, registration type, association membership, operation time, employment and wages,

capital, fixed assets, operating income, and accounting system.

3.2. Sample surveys (China Statistics Bureau, 2003b)

As discussed above, sample surveys have been more widely adopted in China in recent

years. It began with the NBS and central executive departments; now local and departmental

statistics agencies are also using the method. There is no data available on how many sample

surveys are used by governments at all levels, although Zhang Sai was certain that 30% of

statistics were collected by that method. The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Databank

for China Studies (http://www.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/databank.asp) offers a glimpse of the types of

sample surveys that have been conducted by central and local governments. Sampling Survey

on Migration of 74 Cities and Towns in China 1986 and the 1987 Second China In-depth

Fertility Sample Survey are two examples. The National Bureau of Statistics’ Web site offers

a list of some of the major sample surveys at national level.

! Population Sample Survey: conducted between population censuses and aimed at tracing

the growth and migration of population.

! Urban Labor Force Sample Survey: conducted quarterly and traces employment and

unemployment in urban areas.

! Gross Output of Agriculture Sample Survey: survey on arable land, planting plan, output

of grain, cotton, and livestock.

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! Rural Basic Units Sample Survey: survey on number of basic units in rural areas, labor

force, and basic finance.

! Small Enterprise Sample Survey: targeted at enterprises with annual sales of under RMB 5

million. Data are collected on number of employees, gross output value, and sales value.

! Investment in Fixed Capital in Rural Area Sample Survey: data are collected on capital,

current floor space of construction, and finished floor space of construction.

! Rural Area Household Sample Survey: conducted annually and periodically on the basic

condition of households and income and expenses.

! Urban Area Household Sample Survey: conducted quarterly and annually on employ-

ment, housing, nutrition, and income and expenses.

! Small Wholesale and Food Service Sample Survey

! Consumption Price Index Sample Survey

! Price Index of Industrial Products Sample Survey

! Price Index of Investment in Fixed Capital Sample Survey

As sample surveying has proven quite successful for population and agriculture, the NBS

has been planning to push the method further in the industrial and commercial area.

3.3. National/regional regular statistical reporting schedules (tongji baobiao zhidu) (China

Statistics Bureau, 2003b)

There are currently 12 major national statistical reporting schedules in China. All

national reporting schedules are operated by the NBS. Data are collected on standard forms

designed by the NBS, in some cases designed jointly with ministries. The Ministry of

Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce (formerly Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic

Cooperation), and State Development Planning Commission are probably the most heavily

involved.

As these reporting schedules operate from very grassroots units and up through counties,

provinces, and up to the NBS, the numbers can be reported and published at all different

levels of administration.

1. Agricultural Output Value Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are reported quarterly,

seasonally, and annually on gross agricultural output value, agricultural material

consumption, price indexes of agricultural products, and consumption of major

agricultural products.

2. Agricultural, Forestry, Livestock, and Fishery Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data

are reported periodically on condition of agriculture, forestry, livestock, and

fishery, total gross value of the four sectors, and price indexes of major products.

3. Construction Industry Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are reported periodically and

annually on gross value, number of construction projects undertaken, floor space of

construction undertaken, floor space of finished construction, technical equipment,

employment and wages, consumption of material, and finance of construction

enterprises.


4. Enterprise Statistics Reporting Schedule: Four reporting forms are used in this survey to

gather data on enterprises of different sizes. Data are collected semiannually and

annually on basic registration information of enterprises, type of business, employment

and wages, finance of enterprise, major products, and subsidiary companies.

5. Investment in Fixed Capital Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data collected monthly,

quarterly, and annually include investment in infrastructure, investment in reform of

enterprise, fixed capital investment in state-owned enterprises, fixed capital investment

in other enterprises, real estate development investment, and private housing invest-

ment. Hundreds of indicators are included in this survey.

6. Industrial Statistics Reporting Schedule: This schedule is targeted at all state-owned,

private, joint, and foreign enterprises. Data are collected monthly and annually on gross

output value, increase rate of gross output value, output of major industrial products,

sales value, sales volume, storage volume, production capability, employment and

wages, and consumption of energy and materials.

7. Labor Force Statistics Reporting Schedule: The schedule is targeted at all sectors. Data

are collected quarterly on total number of employees, wages, change in employment

trends, and other indicators.

8. Price Index Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are collected monthly and annually on

hundreds of price index indicators of agricultural products, industrial products, energy

products, agricultural materials, other products, retail sales, and cost of living.

9. Science and Technology Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are collected annually on

employment and wages in science and technology sectors, funds, expenses, research

and development activities, research achievements, projects, and institutions.

10. Transportation, Post, and Telecommunication Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are

collected monthly and annually on number of motor vehicles, number of transport

vessels, volume of road, air, railway, sea, and pipeline traffic, volume of port freight,

basic condition of postal service and telecommunication, financial situation of

transportation enterprises, and employment and wages.

11. Wholesale and Food Service Statistics Reporting Schedule: Data are collected monthly

and annually on stock of commodities, gross sales value, gross storage value, volume of

sales, wholesale and retail sales value, and gross restaurant sales value.

12. Statistics Reporting Schedule of Basic Units: Establishment information is collected

annually in noncensus years on basic unit’s name, address, legal representative, business

hours, business type, number of employees, wages, capital, and registration type.

As ministries and commissions in the central government also have the responsibility to

collect, compile, and publish statistics in their own subject areas, they run their own

reporting schedules. According to the NBS, there are currently 95 ministries and bureaus in

the central government conducting subject reporting schedules (China Statistics Bureau,

Catalog of Ministry Survey programs, 2003). These statistics serve to support decision

making in each institution, but they are also valuable data in subject areas. Most of these

data are published in subject statistical yearbooks (see Appendix A) and ministries’

yearbooks (see Appendix B).


4. Statistical resources available in China

Under the system of a unified leadership but separate responsibility of each level of

government, the responsibility for publishing for statistics in China lies with all the statistical

agencies in the structure. The Detailed Rules for Implementation of Statistics Law of People’s

Republic of China states that

The statistical data obtained by the National Bureau of Statistics through statistical investigations shall be made

public by the National Bureau of Statistics. The statistical data obtained by the relevant departments under the State

Council through statistical investigations shall be made public by the departments. If the departmental data overlap or

intersect the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, the departments shall make public the departmental data only

after consultations with the National Bureau of Statistics. The relevant department under the State Council shall report

to the National Bureau of Statistics for its records within ten days after it makes public its statistical data.

When the statistical agencies under the people’s governments at and above county level make the local statistical data

obtained by statistical investigations public, the procedures shall be in accordance with the abovementioned

stipulations (The Detailed Rules for Implementation of Statistics Law of People’s Republic of China, 1987, chap. 3,

article 20).

Challenged by information demands from other countries in a closely connected

commercial world, and encouraged by the increasing volume of international trade, the

Chinese government has realized the importance of releasing statistical information to the

public and the outside world. Stepping away gradually from the traditional attitude of holding

statistical information solely for its political purpose, the government is now facilitating three

channels to distribute official statistical information. In addition to the traditional print media,

other channels are the Internet and press releases and news conferences.

4.1. Print resources

Statistical information in China has been traditionally published in print format and for the

foreseeable future that will remain the major statistics dissemination tool. At the national

level, among all statistical publications, China Statistical Yearbook has been, and still is, the

most comprehensive and important collection of national statistics. Almost all the data

collected by the national reporting schedules and some sample surveys are included in this

book. Like the Statistical Abstract of the United States, it is a must for libraries and

institutions interested in China. The yearbook consists of data on national leaders, land, river,

and other natural resources, national income, national accounts, population, employment and

wages, investment in fixed assets, production and consumption of energy, government

finance, price indexes, people’s livelihood, urban conditions, agriculture, industry, trans-

portation, posts and telecommunications, construction, domestic trade, foreign trade, tourism,

banking and insurance, education, science and technology, culture, sports, public health, and

environmental protection. The data are richer in some sectors such as population, agriculture,

industry, price indexes, and transportation, and thinner in sectors like national accounts,

banking and insurance, environmental protection, and fixed assets investment (The National

Bureau of Statistics of China, 2002a). This yearbook is probably the most often used Chinese

statistical source in North America, as it is also available in English. Another heavily used


statistical reference is China Development Reports: This publication includes not only major

economic indicators and statistics, but also major laws and regulations, policies, experts’

opinions on development trends, and chronicles of events, and it is available in English. On a

monthly basis, the NBS publishes the Chinese–English magazine China Monthly Economic

Indicators, which gives quick numbers on agriculture, industry, investment, retail sales,

imports and exports, finance, and economic development trends, among others. This monthly

publication is also available on the NBS Web site.

While this article focuses on current statistical information, there are three publications on

historical statistics worthy of mention: Comprehensive Statistical Data and Materials on 50

Years of New China provides historic data on about 300 indicators in 16 sectors from 1949 to

1999; the English version is available in CD format. Self-explanatory, Comprehensive

Statistical Data and Materials on Industry, Transportation and Energy in 50 Years of China

contains considerable historic data in these subject areas. Statistical Data and Materials on 50

Years of Urban Cities in China includes data from 1949 to 1999 on urban population and

labor force, general economy, industry, fixed investment, business, finance, wages, education,

culture, health, households, public infrastructure, and utilities. Although these three

publications are not in English, the data included are valuable and rarely available elsewhere.

Based on the complicated reporting and survey systems, many more publications have

been produced by the NBS. Information may be jointly collected with subject departments,

but the NBS assumes the responsibility for publishing them. The area of coverage is actually

quite wide—Appendix A lists some of the statistical yearbooks in specialized areas. As one

can see from the list, most publications have bStatistical YearbookQ in their titles. The major

difference between these subject statistical yearbooks and China Statistical Yearbook is that

the former provide much more detailed data in a particular area. For instance, science and

technology statistics occupy only a small section in China Statistical Yearbook and are

presented in only a dozen tables. In Scientific and Technical Statistical Yearbook, data are

presented on every industry and research institution, in hundreds of tables. Many subjects,

such as energy, chemicals, automobiles, and ethnic affairs, are not even included in the

general statistical yearbook but each has a separate subject statistical yearbook.

As discussed above, ministries and commissions have their own rights and responsibilities

to collect and publish statistics in their specialized areas. Each agency normally only publishes

one or two statistical publications—Appendix B lists most of these ministries’ publications.

These are normally entitled bYearbookQ instead of bStatistical YearbookQ; the difference

between a subject bStatistical YearbookQ from the NBS and a subject bYearbookQ from a

ministry is that the latter (a) is composed of both statistics and policies and regulations, (b)

includes more detailed data on a particular subject, and (c) includes a chronicle of events.

As required by the Statistics Law, all governments above county level publish statistical

yearbooks. As of 2002, there were 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and

2 special zones in China (Ministry of Civil Affairs, 2002). Statistics departments in all these

governments, except the two Special Economic Zones—Shenzhen and Zhuhai—publish local

statistical yearbooks. Appendix C lists most of the provincial publications. Many city

governments also publish statistical yearbooks—of the 660 city governments, there are 87

publishing such yearbooks (The National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2002b).


These local statistical yearbooks are similar in structure to the China Statistical Yearbook.

However, they contain only the data at the one specific government level. Studies on local

issues or a particular province/region require a local statistical yearbook that covers data that

the national statistical yearbook does not. Although Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong,

Chongqing, and a few major provinces’ statistical yearbooks are in English as well, almost

all provincial and city statistical yearbooks are in Chinese only, which proves a challenge to

foreign users.

Unlike the United States and some other countries, there is no depository system as such in

China. While legislative and regulatory documents are normally passed down internally to

local governments, statistical publications are only available in specialized or commercial

bookstores. The National Bureau of Statistics Press has an annual catalog that lists most

statistical publications at all levels of government, but it is only available in Chinese at the

China Statistics Press’ bookstore. The bookstore, however, is very willing to sell the

publications overseas and shipping service is also available.

Overseas users may be able to obtain Chinese statistical publications through interlibrary

loan arrangements with the National Library of China (NLC). The NLC has announced that it

provided international lending and document delivery services to babout 500 libraries in 67

countriesQ (National Library of China, 2003). Interlibrary loan service exists only between the

NLC and individual institutions in United States. The University of Massachusetts even

quotes the costs: bUS$10 for a copy of paper (under ten pages) from journals, US$ 22.5 for a

book lent through Interlibrary Loan, the postage for returning the book would be paid by the

borrow sideQ (East Asian Library, 2003). The NLC also provides document delivery service to

both institutions and individuals; scanned or photocopied documents can be delivered by

mail, fax, or e-mail. The NLC joined OCLC in 1999 (News from OCLC, 1999); many of its

holdings are now in OCLC’s WorldCat.

4.2. Press release and consultation service

As mass media in China are under strong governmental influence—some of them such as

the People’s Daily are official government newspapers—other major channels for releasing

statistics are newspapers and television.

The most official way of releasing statistics is the Statistical Communique. Every

February, the NBS releases the Statistical Communique of the People’s Republic of China

on the National Economic and Social Development. This document summaries the

developments in 12 sectors: general outlook, agriculture, industry and construction,

investment in fixed assets, education and science, transportation, post and telecommuni-

cation, domestic trade, foreign economic relations, banking, security and insurance, culture,

public health and sports, environmental protection, population, and people’s livelihood. The

document is a mixture of explanation and figures. The NBS also releases major results of

the census, annual science and technology accomplishments, and other major numbers in

communique format. Normally, People’s Daily (published since 1949, English version

online since 1998) and China Daily (an English language newspaper published since 1983,

online since 1995) would publish statistical communiques. The NBS has the English


version of Statistical Communique from 1998 to 2002 and other current subject statistical

communiques on its Web site as well.

The NBS also releases statistics to the press on a monthly basis. These include output of

agriculture and industry, fixed assets investment, value of retail sales, price indexes, arable

land and other major indicators. Periodically, the director or spokesperson of the NBS holds

press conferences to release statistics on certain subjects and answer questions from

domestic and foreign reporters. These statistics quickly appear in major newspapers and TV

channels in China. Xinhua News Agency certainly broadcasts these numbers overseas, and

major foreign news agencies that have representatives in China may also have these

statistics.

As a major improvement, the National Bureau of Statistics of China is now providing

reference service to the public. They will attempt to answer questions in English as well. All

published statistics, historical and current, are available by request from

Reference Service, the NBS

75 Yuetan Nanjie

Beijing 100826

Tel.: 86 10 68576320

Fax: 86 10 68576319

E-mail: [email protected]

4.3. Internet resources

According to Wang (2002), the Chinese government has utilized the Internet to publish

government information since 1998. Beijing’s initiative, bGovernment-Online,Q has requiredhundreds of governments at all levels to establish Web sites. Statistics are one type of

information that the Chinese government is willing to release through the Internet. The

following is a list of major Web sites providing statistical information at national and local

level.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China (http://www.stats.gov.cn/) offers a wide range

of statistical information. Unfortunately, there is not as much available in its English version

(http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/index.htm) as in Chinese, but there are four sections of data

in English online. The most useful one is Monthly Statistics, which covers 22 economic

indicators, including GDP, employment, output of agriculture and industry, fixed assets

investment, consumer price index, etc. News and Coming Events, a frequently updated

section, provides the most current data, including new economic indicators such as

Entrepreneur Confidence Index and Consumer Confidence Index. In the News Release

section, Statistical Reports offers the Statistical Communique discussed above. Some other

communiques, such as the Major Figures of the 2000 Population Census, are also published

on this page as soon as they are released. Major annual economic indicators and major census

results are available there, but details need to wait until the annual yearbook comes out. The

News Release section includes another feature, although not as useful, the table of contents of

the most recent statistical yearbook—one can at least know if the data from a particular area

http:\\www.stats.gov.cn\

http:\\www.stats.gov.cn\english\index.htm


are available by looking at the long list of table names. In the section bWhat’s New,Q there is auseful statistical information release timetable.

Much richer statistics are available in the Web site’s Chinese version. In addition to the

monthly statistics, China Statistical Yearbook is mounted on the Web site from 1996 to

2000. Data on basic social and economic conditions at county level for the years 1992,

1995, and 1999 are in neat tables covering GDP, labor force, number of grassroots units,

output of agriculture, financial condition, and education. A particularly valuable feature is

its links to statistical pages of ministries’ Web sites (http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjfw/

index.htm). Instead of having to dig out these data from various sources, this page

provides a one-stop shopping point, and statistics can be traced on finance, taxation, foreign

exchange, custom, post and telecommunication, civil aviation, culture, copyright, health,

water resources, transportation, construction, stock exchanges, civil affairs, foreign

investments, electricity, insurance, exports and imports, science and technology, environ-

mental protection, education, forestry, public security, work safety, food and drugs, Chinese

medicine, and meteorology. As governments at all levels will have to have their own Web

sites, it is certain that more statistical information will become available online. Although

all print statistics are for sale only, online information is all free of charge.

China Data Center (http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/chinadata/) is hosted by the University

of Michigan. The resources from this Web site are very much appreciated by the academic

community, as official statistics from the NBS are converted into an Americanized

relational database and more importantly are mostly in English. Statistical data are sorted

into categories of land and resources, population, economic indicators of the nation,

economic indicators of regions, agriculture, manufacturing industry, domestic commerce,

foreign trade and investment, finance and taxation, energy, transportation and communi-

cation, investment, construction and city, science and technology, mass media and culture,

education, and public health and welfare. Data only go back to 1997. The most recent

economic data are available on the China Latest Economic Indicators page. A unique

feature of this site is its China Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Data,

which is hardly found online anywhere else. The Data Center also provides a purchasing

service for statistical publications from the China Statistics Press, which is a great help in

smoothing the ordering process; however, the prices are much higher than purchasing

directly from the China Statistics Press.China Statistical Data (http://www.china.org.cn/e-company/index.htm) is part of the China

Internet Information Center Web site, an authorized government portal site to China. It is

managed jointly by the China International Publishing Group and the State Council

Information Office. As it is aimed at an overseas audience, all information is in English and

other foreign languages. Data published here are monthly statistics on industry, investments,

price indexes, domestic trade, foreign trade, imports and exports, finance, and budget. The

coverage is from 2000, and the database can be browsed by month.Databank for China Studies (DCS) (http://www.usc.cuhk.edu.hk/databank.asp) was

established in 1995 by the Universities Service Center for China Studies, Chinese University

of Hong Kong. The databank gathers mostly population, agriculture, enterprises and reform,

women studies, and some social and economic statistics. The service is fee based, except for

http:\\www.stats.gov.cn\tjfw\index.htm

http:\\www.umich.edu\~iinet\chinadata\

http:\\www.china.org.cn\e-company\index.htm

http:\\www.usc.cuhk.edu.hk\databank.asp


faculty and students of CUHK. A value-added service, there is an abstract explaining content,

methodology, and object of the survey in English, which one can find on the NBS Web site in

Chinese. Some data sets have the questionnaire for the survey attached. For researchers who are

concerned with the reliability of the data, this looks like useful information.

United Nations InfoNation (http://cyberSchoolBusun.org/infonation3/menu/advanced.asp)

is an easy-to-use database that allows people to view and compare the most up-to-date

statistical data for the member states of the United Nations. Data are in a standard five

sections for every country, including China: economy, population, health, technology, and

environment. Data are provided by United Nations Statistics Division, which relies on

official statistics from member counties.

World Bank Data by Country (http://www.worldbank.org/data/countrydata/countrydata.

html) covers over 200 countries. Data on China, as well as on other countries, are available

in three databases: Data Profile offers development indicators; ICT at a Glance provides

key data on information and communications technologies, with sections on infrastructure

and access, computers and the Internet, expenditures, and ICT business and government

environment; Country at a Glance presents two pages of key indicators tracing the trends in

social and economic development from the last two decades. Aggregates for China’s

regional and income groups are also included. The headings are poverty and social, key

economic ratios and long-term trends, structure of the economy, prices and government

finance, trade, balance of payments, and external debt and resource flows.

International Monetary Fund General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) (http://

dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/gdds/gddshome/). In a standard format, this site provides

links to major statistics generators in China (and many other countries) and information on

economic, financial, and sociodemographic data disseminated. Its unique feature is the

description of current statistical practices in China, together with the country’s plans to

improve statistical systems. This site is more helpful for understanding statistical policy and

systems rather than being a data source itself.

5. Conclusion

The statistical system in China was finally set out by the Statistics Law in 1983. With its

mixture of centralized and decentralized structure, it does have clear responsibility for

statistics administration at every level and in every governmental body. The system has

faced, and is still facing, many challenges from structural changes in the domestic economy

and the demands for information transparency from the international community. It has

been functioning well considering where it began, but it is still far from functioning

perfectly by international standards. In the transition from planned to market economy, the

system is struggling to meet the needs of managing the two types of economic activities.

The National Bureau of Statistics has been making efforts to find a workable mechanism in

this challenging time period.

By moving away from the traditional statistics reporting schedules, the NBS and other

executive government branches are adopting a mechanism of data collecting, analyzing, and

http:\\cyberSchoolBusun.org\infonation3\menu\advanced.asp

http:\\www.worldbank.org\data\countrydata\countrydata.html

http:\\dsbb.imf.org\Applications\Web\gdds\gddshome\


aggregating that is closer to international standards and practice. By relying more on census

data and by using more sample surveys, the intentional overstatement of data from local

cadres can be reduced greatly. The reporting schedules will not disappear overnight, but

their weight in the entire system will lessen as reform develops.

Given this huge statistical system functioning actively, there are actually many more

statistical publications out there than one expects. However, access to these data, in

general, is affected by a number of obstacles: in-depth data are usually only available in

Chinese; data presentation does not always conform to international practice; data

compilation and release are becoming systematic but improvement is still needed; no

complete statistical catalog is available, even in Chinese; lack of technical notes may

make data validity suspect; historical and local data are still difficult to obtain; and the

complex relations between the NBS and other major statistics generators often confuse

data seekers.

Data availability in North America and other parts of the world is particularly

problematic because even the existence of many statistics is little known outside the

statistical community in China. Most of these problems are not intentional on the part of

Chinese government—it takes time to develop a statistical system complying with the

international standards. The NBS, as well as some other government branches in China,

has been working hard to address the above issues and particular efforts are being made

toward making major statistics available in English, adopting international practice in

data compilation and presentation, allowing more transparency of the statistics collection

process, and adding more technical notes to released data. It is a developing trend that

more Chinese statistics become accessible to English users in a more user-friendly way,

both in print and on the Internet. In the meantime, learning that many little-known

sources are already available in English will improve access to China’s data; and

knowing what is available in Chinese as well is helpful when information is urgently

needed.

Acknowledgment

The author would like to acknowledge the editorial assistance of Patricia McClure,

University Libraries, at University of Colorado at Boulder.

Appendix A. Statistical Information at National Level Published by the National Bureau

of Statistics (all are series and published every September)

1. China Agricultural Development Bank Statistical Yearbook 2002

2. China Census 2000 (3 volumes)

3. China Census 2000 Data Abstract

4. China City Development Reports 2002


5. China City Yearbook 2002

6. China Development Reports 20021

7. China Educational Budget Statistical Yearbook 2002

8. China Energy Statistical Yearbook 2002

9. China Grassroots Units Statistical Yearbook 2002

10. China Industrial Economy Statistical Yearbook 2002

11. China Labor Statistical Yearbook 2002

12. China Labor Union Statistical Yearbook 2002

13. China Large Corporations.

14. China Market Yearbook 20021

15. China Municipal/County Economy Yearbook 2002

16. China Population Statistical Yearbook 2002

17. China Price Indexes and Urban Household Income and Expenditure Statistical

Yearbook 2002

18. China Rural Finance Yearbook 2002

19. China Rural Household Yearbook 2002

20. China Rural Poverty Monitoring Reports 2002

21. China Rural Statistical Yearbook 2002

22. China Scientific and Technical Statistical Yearbook 2002

23. China Statistics Abstract 2002

24. China Town and Village in Rural Area

25. China Town, Village, and Street Population Statistics

26. China Western Region Statistical Yearbook 2001

27. Chins Construction Industry Yearbook 2002

28. Collection of Statistical Data in Service Industry in China 2002

29. Comprehensive Statistical Data and Materials on 50 Years of New China

30. Comprehensive Statistical Data and Materials on Industry, Transportation and Energy in

50 Years of China

31. International Statistics Yearbook 2002

32. The National Bureau of Statistics of China 2002c (CD-ROM)1

Source: China Statistics Press Catalog (2002)

Appendix B. Statistical Information at National Level Published by Ministries and

Commissions (all are series and published every November)

1. China Agriculture Yearbook 2002. Ministry of Agriculture

2. China Automobile Industry Yearbook 2002. China Automobile Technology Research

Center

3. China Automobile Market Yearbook 2002. China Automobile Technology Research

Center


4. China Chemical Industry Yearbook 2002. State Petrochemical Industry Bureau

5. China Civil Affairs Yearbook 2002. Ministry of Civil Affairs

6. China Domestic Trade Yearbook 2002. State Internal Trade Bureau

7. China Economy and Trade Yearbook 2002. State Economic and Trade Commission

8. China Economy Yearbook 2002. Development Research Center of the State Council

9. China Electrical Appliances Industry Yearbook 2002. China Association of Electrical

Appliances Industry

10. China Electricity Yearbook 2002. Ministry of Power Industry

11. China Electronic Commerce Yearbook 2002. China Electronic Commerce Editorial

Group

12. China Energy Development Reports 2002. China Energy Development Report Editorial

Group

13. China Enterprise Management Yearbook 2002. China Association of Enterprise

Management

14. China Ethnic Affairs Yearbook 2002. State Ethnic Affairs Commission

15. China Finance Yearbook 2002. China Finance Yearbook Editorial Group

16. China Fishery Yearbook 2002. Ministry of Agriculture

17. China Foreign Economy and Trade Yearbook 2002. State Economic and Trade

Commission

18. China General Machinery Industry Yearbook 2002. China Association of Machinery

Industry

19. China Grinding Material and Machine Yearbook 2002. State Administration of

Machinery Industry

20. China Hydroelectricity Yearbook 2002. Ministry of Water Resources

21. China Information Yearbook 2002. State Information Center

22. China Machinery Industry Yearbook 2002. State Administration of Machinery

Industry

23. China Market Yearbook 2003

24. China Real Estate Statistics Yearbook 2002. China Real Estate Statistics Yearbook

Editorial Group

25. China Taxation Regulation Handbook. State Administration of Taxation

26. China Taxation Yearbook 2002. State Administration of Taxation

27. China Tenders Yearbook 2002. State Development Planning Commission

28. Collection of Infrastructure Projects Statistics in China 2002–2003. State Development

Planning Commission

29. Collection of Production Costs and Profits Statistics of Agricultural Products in China

2002. State Development Planning Commission

30. Consumption and Living Patterns Yearbook 2002. Market Information Research Center

31. Reports of China Investment in Fixed Assets. State Development Planning

Commission

32. World Economy Yearbook 2002. Chinese Academy of Social Science



Appendix C. Statistical Information at Provincial and Municipality level (all are series

and published every August)

1. Anhui Statistical Yearbook 2002. Anhui Province Statistics Department

2. Beijing Information Industry Yearbook 2002. Beijing Association of Information

Industry

3. Beijing Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Beijing Municipality Statistics Department

4. Chongqing Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Chongqing Municipality Statistics Department

5. Fujian Statistical Yearbook 2002. Fujian Province Statistics Department

6. Gansu Statistical Yearbook 2002. Gansu Province Statistics Department

7. Guangdong Agriculture Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hubei Province Statistics Department

8. Guangdong Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Guangdong Province Statistics Department

9. Guangxi Statistical Yearbook 2002. Guangxi Autonomous Region Statistics Department

10. Guizhou Statistical Yearbook 2002. Guizhou Province Statistics Department

11. Hainan Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hainan Province Statistics Department

12. Hebei Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hebei Province Statistics Department

13. Hebei Economic Data 1949–2002. Hebei Province Statistics Department

14. Heilongjiang Statistical Yearbook 2002. Heilongjiang Province Statistics Department

15. Henan Agriculture Statistical Yearbook 2002. Henan Province Statistics Department

16. Henan Cities Statistical Yearbook 2002. Henan Province Statistics Department

17. Henan Enterprise Yearbook 2002. Henan Province Statistics Department

18. Henan Statistical Yearbook 2002. Henan Province Statistics Department

19. Hubei Agriculture Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hebei Province Statistics Department

20. Hubei Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hubei Province Statistics Department

21. Hunan Statistical Yearbook 2002. Hunan Province Statistics Department

22. Jiangsu Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Jiangsu Province Statistics Department

23. Jiangxi Statistical Yearbook 2002. Jiangxi Province Statistics Department

24. Jilin Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Jilin Province Statistics Department

25. Liaoning Statistical Yearbook 2002. Liaoning Province Statistics Department

26. Neimenggu (Inner Mongolia) Statistical Yearbook 2002. Neimenggu Autonomous

Region Statistics Department

27. Ningxiang Statistical Yearbook 2002.NingxiaAutonomousRegion StatisticsDepartment

28. Qinghai Statistical Yearbook 2002. Qinghai Province Statistics Department

29. Shan’xi Statistical Yearbook 2002. Shan’xi Province Statistics Department

30. Shandong Statistical Yearbook 2002. Shandong Province Statistics Department

31. Shanghai Real Estate Market 2002. Shanghai Statistics Department

32. Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2002. Shanghai Statistics Department

33. Shanxi Statistical Yearbook 2002. Shanxi Province Statistics Department

34. Sichuan Statistical Yearbook 2002. Sichuan Province Statistics Department

35. Tianjin Statistical Yearbook 2002. Tianjin Municipality Statistics Department

36. Xinjiang Statistical Yearbook 2002. Xinjiang Autonomous Region Statistics

Department


37. Xinjijang Agricultural Corporation Statistical Yearbook 2002. Xinjiang Autonomous

Region Statistics Department

38. Xizhang (Tibet) Statistical Yearbook 2002. Xizhang Autonomous Region Statistics

Department

39. Yunnan Statistical Yearbook 2002. Yunnan Province Statistics Department

40. Zhejiang Statistical Yearbook 2002.1 Zhejiang Province Statistics Department


Note

1. Available in English.

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